The present invention relates generally to structural members with an open channel, especially those structural members used in the compartment structure of a vehicle. However, certain applications in the present invention may be outside of this field.
Vehicles such as firetrucks, pickup trucks, various utility vehicles, and other vehicles are sometimes required to have storage compartments accessible from the exterior of the vehicle. The compartment structure that defines the compartments may be integrated into the body and frame of the vehicle, or may be formed separately and attached to the vehicle frame. It is typical for the walls of the compartments to be fabricated from sheet metal attached to a framework of structural members, or in some applications by molding the walls of the compartment in a single unit from a material such as a plastic.
The compartments may be used to store a variety of equipment in a variety of shapes and sizes. It is sometimes necessary to attach brackets such as shelf standards to the walls of the compartment to support modular shelving to obtain optimum utilization of the volume of the compartment.
Sometimes it is useful to route electrical wiring and install various components within the compartment structure. In a compartment formed from closed structural members, the volume within the structural member may not be available as an electrical raceway or area in which to mount components. In such applications it may be necessary to locate the electrical wiring within the compartment, thus making it vulnerable to being damaged by other equipment stored within the compartment.
There is a continuing need for improvements in the field of structural members. The present invention provides improvements in a novel and unobvious way.